A Governance Framework for Managing and Engaging Project Stakeholders 1

Stakeholders have emerged as a major force to be reckoned with on projects. Organizations have become increasingly aware over time that careful management and engagement of project stakeholders goes hand in hand with a higher likelihood of project success. However, neither academics nor practitioners of project management have developed a comprehensive allinclusive and dynamic source of reference for managing and engaging stakeholders on projects undertaken in and by organizations. Based on decades of project experience, and their theoretical and empirical research on project stakeholders, the authors unveil in this paper their governance framework designed to help organizations address all salient aspects and considerations relating to the management and engagement of all stakeholders on their projects. Encompassing four component levels, the framework’s fundamental objective is to ensure that projects stand a higher chance of success and deliver multi-dimensional and sustainable benefits to as many stakeholders as much as possible.